Smith was judged to have won just a single round and lost the other 11 by one of the scoring judges at ringside in an ebb and flow, nip and tuck, touch-tight world title fight that was far closer than the record books will suggest.

After pouring every ounce of his being into the contest it was a hammer blow below the belt and the final insult after the other two scoring officials said Arthur Abraham would keep his WBO title to the tune of 117-111 verdicts.

Those cards were not easy to understand either but the one marked ‘119-109’ takes it to a whole different level.

Such a score seriously calls into question the judgement of Spanish Laguna official Fernando Lugana who failed to see how Smith confidently bridged the gap to world level and matched the battle-hardened Abraham every step of the way.

It was a score that failed to understand how the fighters exchanged the winning of rounds as they did thumping jabs and failed to call a fight anywhere near correctly.

Clearly Laguna faces serious questions over his ability to do the job.

Trainer Joe Gallagher quipped that the judge needs to go to Specsavers but Smith’s coach knows this is no laughing matter and has today called for sanctions to be issued.

Professional boxing is so often undermined by politics and self-interest but one of the biggest ills is when a fight is judged like this one.

While Smith’s boisterous travelling fans understandably believed their man to be right in the mix heading into the final three rounds, Abraham’s victory was all but sewn up on the scorecards.

Had the champion won the fight by a round or two then few would’ve put up much of a sustained argument today.

It was a fiercely contested and absorbing bout where Smith and Abraham traded, punched and counter punched and pushed each other all the way.

Had Smith edged it by a similar margin - as the ECHO believes he did - then the German fans could also have had little grounds for too much complaint.

Instead we have uproar. Anger and a sport beating itself up.

The only thing to salvage from this mess is that the backlash from the scorecards should help oil the wheels of a rematch.

Promoters Eddie Hearn and Kalle Sauerland will hold discussions and should there be the “demand” then Abraham and Smith will fight again before Christmas.

It is likely to be in Germany despite calls on Saturday night for the champion to test himself in a Liverpool cauldron.

Smith, whose exceptional display will inevitably be lost behind the controversy but cannot be forgotten, knows he has the beating of Abraham.